Education is the weapon for lifer. The ambitious find it, determined to struggle in the process, and do not give up in order to succeed. The trimmed wallet does not discourage him; it is the ambition that counts.
It is by reason of poverty that many cannot obtain education. Children are forced to stop and find jobs after elementary or high school work and end up as laborers to survive. It is a pity. Others do not continue, although the pocket ensures it, but it suffocates their minds to become drug dependents. Still others stop because they enter married life unprepared. These people do not find education important.
What makes a man in this world of crises and change? A person who is educated could have a big edge over one who is not. He can find better jobs at better pay where paper and pencil are his tools at work while the uneducated labor hard to get paid. This is the reason why parents, besides it being a responsibility, always find a way to send their children to school. They do not mind the intense heat of the sun or cold of rain, eight to twelve hours of work everyday, to produce the needed centavo for the education of their children. This situation is a fact in depressed areas where poor families live.
Our government, as embodied in the Constitution, provides free and compulsory basic education in the elementary level and free in the secondary. No tuition fees are charged. Only authorized contributions are collected by BSP/GSP, Red Cross, Anti-TB, etc., which must be sanctioned by a DepEd memo. This is a primordial concern of our government. In fact, our system gets the biggest budget to implement its line programs and projects. Despite this however, our country ranks 39 out of 42 Asian countries in terms of economy and education, according to a statistical survey conducted. What a disgrace!
School buildings have been in service for so long and may collapse at the whip of a typhoon. Pupil-textbook ratio averages 3:1 (3 pupils for every 1 textbook). A two-seater desk is occupied by three pupils resulting in overcrowding because supply is not enough; low academic performance arises. This scenario exists mostly in the rural and remote areas, not to mention the slimmest fragment that teachers receive from transforming the child into a holistic individual. Where has the huge budget gone?
To raise the quality of education, a realistic curriculum should not be copied, but be based on the needs and capabilities of the Filipino and should provide skills necessary for life. Corrupt officials should be replaced and tuition fees of private schools and universities should be regulated. Scholarships should be granted to poor but deserving students in fulfillment of their desired destiny. These are the things our government must look into so that our nation will be lifted from its place and thus compete with the rest of the world in the years to come.
